The Wharton Way to Wall Street

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What do you suggest for students who interned in one area of business but want to go into a different field after graduation?

I don't necessarily think that's a failed internship at all. You don't always know until you actually try something. I think taking a risk and trying an internship, if you like it, is great. If you don't, then maybe you can focus on your likes and dislikes, so you can do something a little bit different in the future.

I hope they're not too pigeonholed by the time they're 21. Usually, there are transferable skills that you learn in one job that you can apply to others. Don't put the experience down, but say something like, "I realize that I don't want to spend the entire day in front of a computer doing modeling. I really want more interaction, and that's why I'm looking at investment management instead of banking."

Which Career Center workshops should Wharton students attend?

We offer résum&eacute and cover letter writing workshops, and all that kind of stuff, but a lot of the time I find that students go to our Web site and get that information and then come in and talk with us about it. More useful are the programs where alumni come in and talk about what a typical day on the job is like because students can can get it right from the horse's mouth.

How can students make sure their résumés are reviewed by recruiters?

It's hard because you don't want to stand out too much. I've had experiences where people try to be a little too creative and it's really backfired on them. Make it easy to get through, easy to read, with enough spacing. Use bold, so you make the things you want to stand out actually stand out. Also, make it relevant. Think about what the employer is going to care about, not necessarily what's most important to you.

I had a meeting with an alum a week or so ago, and he kept insisting on putting all this stuff from high school on his résumé. "But I took 11 AP courses!" I said, "Yes, but you're now 25. You've been working for three years. They don't care that you took 11 AP courses in high school." He was wedded to it, and I don't think an employer would care one iota what he took in high school.